139 U.S. military servicemen will take part in U.S.-Russian joint wargames that start on Monday, RIA Novosti reports. Together with 137 Russians they will rehearse a UN-sanctioned defensive operation against a third country.

Torgau-2005, 10 days of wargames named after the German city of Torgau, where Soviet and American soldiers met in the last days of WW II, opened in Moscow on Monday.

“This is the second time we have held joint Torgau wargames, but this year for the first time the servicemen of the two armies are going to train together, rehearsing a rebuff of an attack by a third country,” Commander in Chief of Russia’s Ground Forces Colonel-General Alexei Maslov said.

“American soldiers are going to get acquainted with Russian military equipment in the town of Solnechnogorsk near Moscow, while Russian soldiers will study U.S. equipment at a German-based U.S. military centre,” he was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

The event is really important for the servicemen of both armies, the U.S. head of the wargames General David Zabeki told journalists.

“Both the Russian and U.S. armies have their methods. We may have to cooperate on a different level in future, this is why we should have better compatibility, and know each other’s methods,” he was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

10 interpreters will help the servicemen to communicate effectively, the news agency added.